1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an enclosure, such as a habitat for use in earth orbit, for example, as well as for use in terrestrial environments, on land or underwater. The present invention also relates to the method of constructing the enclosure.
2. Description of Background and Other Information
In the art of building structures, economy and efficiency are usually sought in the selection of the materials used and the methods employed in construction. For example, in both residential and commercial construction, it is known to utilize prefabricated components, factory-assembled, e.g., which are then transported to the construction site and appropriately arranged in a predetermined manner to complete the building structure. The structure is thereby produced in the minimal amount of time, but at a predetermined level of quality, usually mandated by regulation or code.
When building structures are designed for use in space, efficiency and economy are likewise sought and are even more critical. Indeed, due to the cost of transporting building materials and components to a space location, it is important that the method of construction be as efficient as possible. Ease of deployment and assembly, not material and strength factors, are most important. On the one hand, the cost and practicality of transporting relatively large preassembled components to a space location, which can be assembled in a relatively minimal amount of time, has to be balanced with the cost and practicality of merely transporting the necessary building materials to such a space location, which would then be used in construction of the structure in a relatively greater amount of time.
In either case, a primary constraint is the limitation in the size and weight of the payload, comprised of the necessary materials and/or components that can be transported to the space location, and the cost of transporting the payload. For example, the cargo capacity of the transport vehicle used would constrain the size of any given component. Necessarily, therefore, it is an objective to produce a relatively compact and light-weight payload during transportation, yet one which is comprised of the necessary materials and/or components for efficiently completing the enclosure, whether a habitat for human occupation or other enclosure for storage, support or other function.
In the United States, a presently planned space station design, which itself is already at least a second generation design, is planned to be constructed in eighteen components assembled on earth and transported to earth orbit, at an altitude of about 250 to 300 miles (403 to 483 kilometers), and assembled together during 28 space shuttle missions. The design includes, as the constituent foundation, two major structural beams, each about 360 feet (110 meters) in length and parallel to one another, which are crossed at an intermediate point, by another beam, about 400 feet (122 meters) in length. The two parallel beams are closed at their ends by smaller length beams to form two large box-like areas. Various modules for docking, habitation, experimentation, etc. are to be affixed to the structural framework. Construction of the structure is expected to begin in March, 1995 and is expected to be completed in four and one-half years.
At a currently projected cost of $37 billion, the U.S. structure is under critical Congressional review and critics contend that it is overweight, underpowered, and may require more frequent space shuttle flights than projected to complete the assembly. These critics cite the complexity of the present design as a significant problem. For example, thousands of different pieces are necessary to be assembled, which have been compared to pieces of a giant jig-saw puzzle, which are difficult to fit together properly.